Mapping Ci)zenship Educa)on in Egypt H Presenta)on Outline •  Background •  Research Ques)ons •  Research Design and Methods •  Main Findings •  Conclusion •  Opportuni)es for further research Background •  NECE Focus Group: Exchange between Europe and North Africa. •  Partnership Project: •  Mapping process of civic educa)on programs and strategies implemented in Egypt. Research Team The project team members are as follows: •  Shahdan Arram: Program Manager – DEDI •  Reem Awny Abuzaid: Project Officer – DEDI The EYF Team: •  Rana Gaber: Director of Programs – EYF •  Mennah Reda: Project Coordinator – EYF The research team members are as follows: •  Shereen Aly •  Youmna El-­‐Kha;am •  Ohoud Wafi •  Research Ques)ons: Percep)on Ac)on Stakeholders Challenges + Aspira)ons Research Ques)ons 1. How is ci)zenship educa)on perceived in Egyp)an context? 2. How are these percep)ons translated into ac)on on the ground? a.  Who are the main stakeholders? b.  What are the ini)a)ves or projects on the ground? 3.  What are the key challenges facing the CSOs and related government en))es in implemen)ng ci)zenship educa)on projects? 4.  What are the aspira)ons of the involved stakeholders regarding ci)zenship educa)on in Egypt? 5.  What are the best prac)ces within CE field so far? Problem Statement •  A[er some research within the Egyp)an literature, there is CE research for the formal sector, within the schooling system. However there is not enough focus on the efforts done for youth through the Ministry of Youth (Central department for Parliamentary and Civic Educa)on) and within the non-­‐formal sector. •  This study focuses on documen)ng some of the efforts done in the non-­‐formal sector. Research Design and Methodology •  Qualita)ve •  Case Selec)on (to cover): –  Non-­‐governmental Organiza)ons and civil society ini)a)ves that have implemented ci)zenship educa)on projects. –  Donor agencies that are interested in ci)zenship educa)on projects. –  Youth who are involved in ci)zenship educa)on projects, either as par)cipants or as trainers or organizers of workshops or events. –  Government officials who are involved in ci)zenship educa)on projects. –  Experts and academic professors who have been involved as consultants in ci)zenship educa)on projects. Research Design and Methodology •  Case Selec)on (sample details): –  The total number of par)cipants is 42: with 18 females, and 22 males. –  The age range of par)cipants is from 19 to 35 with 1 male par)cipant aged 46. •  Data Collec)on: –  9 Semi-­‐structured interviews. –  4 Focus groups. –  Reviewing documents. Important Findings I.  What is Ci)zenship Educa)on? II.  How is a ci)zen defined in Egypt? III.  Ministry of Youth Program. IV.  Mapping of Current efforts. V.  Recommenda)ons. VI.  Challenges Important Findings •  What is Ci)zenship Educa)on? –  "In my view, Civic Educa1on – and here I speak in terms of output-­‐ is a learning process that results that the individual is transferred from a normal individual to an ac1ve individual that has impact on the people around him“ –  “Our main vision for Civic Educa1on is that extracurricular ac1vi1es complete the gaps in the Formal conven1onal or Governmental educa1on in Egypt through NGOs or stakeholders who are interested in providing content or tools for educa1on” –  Hands-­‐on, interac)ve, real-­‐life experience, fun, inquiry process. Important Findings How is a ciBzen defined in Egypt? §  "The image of the ci)zen is one who does more than he talks, who does a lot of effort and build and try to understand no)on of responsibility". §  "I will not use the term ci)zen, because that will mean excluding a lot of people, today I am the ci)zen tomorrow I am not. For example, Muslim brotherhoods are not ci)zens anymore, atheists are not so I don’t associate the no)on of ci)zen with loyalty or belonging or na)on". §  “there are fully func)onal ci)zens who are fully eligible and have the right to establish poli)cal par)es, publish newspapers and there are other ci)zens due to poli)cized laws of the country are oppressed with no access to such rights” Mapping: An Example •  Ministry of Youth Program: –  Started in 2006 in partnership with UNICEF. –  The main program is training with five main components: ci)zenship, par)cipa)on, rights & responsibili)es, youth & state, youth & development. –  The program was designed by experts in the field who were suggested by UNICEF. –  All ac)vi)es in the program are interac)ve. Mapping of Current Efforts –  Some Long Term Programs: •  Civic Educa)on Program: MoY and UNICEF. •  Democracy Schools: DEDI. •  Summer School: CIHRS –  Covering these Thema)c areas: •  Democra)c Values and Engagement. •  Community organizing and helping people nego)ate and advocate for their rights. •  Advocacy for a specific minority group’s rights. •  Employability skills. Mapping of Current Efforts: Key Actors –  Interna)onal NGOs: •
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Bri)sh Council UNICEF The Danish Egyp)an Dialogue Ins)tute (DEDI) GIZ Goethe Ins)tute USAID –  Local NGOs: •
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Egyp)an Associa)on for Educa)onal Resources (E-­‐ERA) Egyp)an Youth Federa)on (EYF) El Sadat Associa)on for Social Development and Welfare Nahdet el Mahrousa Recommenda)ons Civil Society Level: •  Coopera)on between civil society and the state, based on the fact that the State realizes that CSOs are actually filling a gap that they cannot fulfill, and that they need the development projects that are being done. •  Having technical support for the civil society, so there would be accumula)on of knowledge and evalua)on to decide which projects work and which don't. •  For the organiza)ons working on CE to focus on specific component or thema)c area of CE to avoid duplica)on. Recommenda)ons Research: •  More quan)ta)ve mapping of the efforts exerted in the field and their geographic distribu)on. •  Impact assessment of the current programs to define gaps or new direc)ons. •  Content analysis of non-­‐formal curricula (there is already literature on the formal curricula in schools). Main Challenges to CE field §  Small number of well trained calibers for design and training processes of CE. §  Poor Content development processes §  Limited documenta)on §  Scaqered Impact assessment and Evalua)on efforts §  Restric)ve NGO Law §  Challenging Security Situa)on Thank You